witches – Nerdisthttp://nerdist.com
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 01:00:39 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Jessica Chobot’s Witchy Comic FIREBRAND Reveals First Three Chaptershttp://nerdist.com/jessica-chobots-witchy-comic-firebrand-reveals-first-three-chapters/
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:49:43 +0000http://nerdist.com/?p=461887Hold onto your pointy hats, because we’ve got a comics preview that will knock your striped socks off! As you may already know, Nerdist News‘ very own Jessica Chobot is releasing a comic called Firebrand: The Initiation of Natali Presano with her writing partner Erika Lewis, and today we have the first look at the initial THREE chapters!

Created and written by Chobot and Lewis—with artwork by Claudia Aguirre—Firebrand follows willful witch Natali Presano. Natali never fit into her father’s perfectly human world: politically ambitious, he turned his back on her just when she needed him most. Having lost her mother to tragedy as a young child, Natali flees the safety of home into the arms of her aunt Selena, the mysterious guardian of a magical order waging a centuries-old war for survival in the mountains of Spain. Natali, now in her 20s, has followed in her aunt’s footsteps, becoming a powerful but rebellious witch in her own right. Returning to Seattle, she finds herself caught between a cruel modern world and the ancient evil threatening to destroy it.

… This makes total sense coming from our own resident sorceress Jessica Chobot, who co-hosts a supernatural podcast, Bizarre States!

And because Jessica and Erika are so excited to share their new story with the world, you can read the first three chapters on LINE Webtoon before the comic’s official launch on January 26, 2017! When you’re done, make sure you read their exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter for more about their process, and take a peek at some of the beautiful artwork by Claudia Aguirre in our gallery below!

Since the start of American Horror Story‘s mysterious sixth season, AHS’ creators and cast members have teased several times that there’s more to the docudrama-style Roanoke than meets the eye. According a recent remark from Ryan Murphy (via Entertainment Weekly), tonight’s episode will feature “the biggest plot twist” they’ve ever done on the show. Based on previous remarks from both Murphy and Brad Falchuk, we know that the twist will throw fans for a loop and make them question everything they know about the series. With the episode a few hours away, the showrunners revealed some pretty big spoilers about how this season connects with Coven, as well as their Freak Show-related plans for season seven.

“The season was sort of written as if the season was two different shows” explained Murphy. “Something happens where half the cast is revealed to be playing and doing something absolutely different than you’ve seen in the first five. There’s a startling announcement at the end of act 3 that resets the rest of the season up until episode 10.”

According to US Weekly, the season will pivot into an entirely different narrative during the last twenty minutes of episode six. With the change, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and Kathy Bates will be playing entirely different characters. Whether they’ll be ones we’ve seen in the past or brand new to the series remains to be seen. The other big reveal the showrunner shared is that Lady Gaga’s witch of the woods character is the first Supreme–which is a direct tie to Coven. This makes me wonder whether Gaga’s witch took on the name Robichaux after escaping her cell and opened the Witches academy in season three, or whether the story she told Matt was even true. Based on what Murphy said, several characters have been lying this season, so anything is possible.

Speaking of Coven, Murphy confirmed that American Horror Story will touch on those characters again. “At some point, we’re going to do a return to the Coven season.” While he didn’t reveal which season that would be, he doled out another juicy detail about season seven: “Next year, we will be going back to some Freak Show characters, deeper histories and mythologies. So we’re sort of still exploring season 4 in season 7.” Does that mean we’ll finally see the return of Jessica Lange? One can dream.

While we already knew Finn Wittrock was set to return, Murphy revealed that his psychotic character will make Dandy Mott look like a teddy bear by comparison. “Finn Wittrock is coming back soon, playing his most f–ked-up character of all time. To the point where he was like, ‘This is so crazy that I don’t know that I can do it, but I’ll do it,'” Murphy confirmed. Dear Finn, thank you for committing to whoever the character ends up being. I seriously can’t wait to see what the writers have in store.

Taissa Farmiga was also confirmed for season six, though it is unclear when she will make her debut. She was a major character in the Coven season, so I’m hoping the connection to the season goes even further and she is playing a previous character.

All that said, if you weren’t a fan of the secrecy this year, I have great news for you. According to Murphy there will be no more secret seasons! Things will go back to normal once they start promoting season seven. The premise for that season will be unveiled in Spring 2017.

What do you think the big twist is going to be? How do you think Taissa Farmiga and Finn Wittrock will be incorporated? Are you excited for a return to Coven and Freak Show? Let us know in the comments below, join the conversation on Facebook, or start one with me on Twitter: @Samantha_Sofka.

We’ve got plenty more American Horror Story theories on Nerdist News!

]]>Stop Everything: TEEN WITCH Is Coming to Netflix in Februaryhttp://nerdist.com/stop-everything-teen-witch-is-coming-to-netflix-in-february/
Mon, 25 Jan 2016 23:00:21 +0000http://nerdist.com/?p=359185Ahhh, Teen Witch. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love you for your music numbers, from “I’m Gonna Be the Most Popular Girl” to the amazing impromptu rap number, “Top That.” I love you for your bleached denim jackets and your gaudy, magical amulet. I love you for your late ’80s vibe, hair, and dumb priorities (boys, being popular). I love you for Robyn Lively, Blake’s super cool older sister. I love you for the mysterious seer Madam Serena, played with perfectly mysterious charm by the late Zelda Rubinstein. But most of all, I love you for your place in the canon of the best movies about witches, along with The Craft, Practical Magic, and The Worst Witch.

And now, like a gift from the heavens–or streaming gods–Teen Witch, the 1989 cult classic, is coming to Netflix in February. For those of you poor, poor souls who are unfamiliar with the film, Teen Witch stars Robyn Lively as Louise Miller, a very sweet, very geeky young girl who discovers that she is actually a powerful, reincarnated witch. Along with a mystical amulet and the help of her mentor/friend from a past life, Madam Serena, Louise gains her powers on her sixteenth birthday and sets out to do what any uncool teenage girl in an 80s movie would do: make her dream boy fall in love with her, meet her idol, get revenge on the teachers/students who made her life hell, and basically… become the most popular girl.

As expected, Louise goes a little mad with power and loses her best friend in the process. Without spoiling the entire thing for you because it is seriously a must-watch, she ultimately learns that FRIENDSHIP is the real magic, or something like that. Basically, it’s one of the greatest films of all time, full stop, no hyperbole–and now you can all watch it again and again, as I intend to when it hits Netflix next month.

Cruel Intentions, Armageddon, Charlie’s Angels, the live-action Scooby Doo movies, Sin City, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, andBetter Call Saul season one are all hitting Netflix on February 1 as well, so we’re basically going to live the couch-and-veg dream next month.

What would you do with a magical amulet? What’s your favorite part of Teen Witch? (It’s her hair, right?) Let us know in the comments below!

—

Rachel Heine is the Editor-in-Chief of The Nerdist and the resident Queen of Halloween. Chat with her about witchy stuff on Twitter @RachelHeine.

Obviously, Hollywood loves to exaggerate, and pop culture witches aren’t the norm. In filmmaker and writer Alex Mar’s new book Witches of America, you get an in-depth, nuanced look at witchcraft in America: from a California priestess named Morpheus (OK, yes, she has long red hair) to Pagans who get tipsy off vodka grapefruit in the Midwestern wilderness to a group in New Orleans who follow the teachings of notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley (the man who inspired a few Led Zeppelin songs).

For Mar, it all started six years ago when she set out to make the documentary American Mystic. That’s how she met Morpheus, and it’s how her interest in witchcraft and magical practice began.

The book comes out on October 20, and Nerdist talked to Mar about pop culture stereotypes of witches, the darker aspects of the occult, and the fact that, as she writes in the book, “Groucho Marx would have understood the witches: their clubs do not necessarily want you as a member.”

Nerdist: American Mystic and Witches of America go deep into these occult groups that are way outside the mainstream. What initially drew you to them?

Alex Mar: I’ve always been fascinated with belief systems, whether it’s a religious community or any situation where a group of people are defining themselves apart from the mainstream, where they feel bonded to a belief system that doesn’t necessarily make their lives easier. I was intrigued by the concept of magic and witchcraft and where it might take me.

N:Morpheus is a major part of the film and the book; she’s a powerful presence. Did she inspire the book idea? How did you first meet her?

AM: The film shows three intertwining portraits of people in their twenties around the country who are part of a fringe community. I thought it would be interesting to talk to someone who identifies herself as a witch. I didn’t really now what that would mean, but I thought the word was really mysterious and dark and intriguing. I was curious to see what that might lead me to and I eventually met Morpheus after meeting with different people and different covens. She was living way off the grid in Northern California. They had erected their own Stonehenge on the property.

In getting to know her I realized that the film was not going to be enough. I literally woke up one morning and realized that there was an entire book there.

N: This is the first thing I’ve read that gives you a real sense of what witchcraft really is. Like a lot of people, what I know about witches in America comes from things like True Blood and a corny Wicca book I checked out the local library as a teenager. And obviously the Salem witch trials.

AM: I think most people have a vague sense of chanting and crystals and sitting in a circle, or they watch a bunch of horror films and believe whatever they show. Although most of the Pagans I’ve met have a pretty good sense of humor about Hollywood horror movies. It’s kind of impressive how much they’re able to laugh at the whole thing.

N:Is there any truth to the pop culture stereotypes we’ve seen?

AM: There are certain things that you see in TV or in films that are actually fairly accurate, like the amount of drama. Some people will wear fairly simple clothes for rituals, but the idea is that you’re dressing in a way that’s going to help you step outside your normal life. People will wear robes and leather and corsets and whatever their version of ritual gear is. People use ritual daggers or wands or a chalice or a sword. When some people are with their coven in private they may practice magic naked; they call it going skyclad. Sometimes people will speak in other languages. Morpheus taught herself Gaulish, which is a dead language. There’s an exotic scene that’s created sometimes for ceremonies. The big distinction is that it’s really unfair and totally false to claim that just because someone practices witchcraft they are out to harm other people or undermine the local Christian community or something. The M.O. isn’t to go out and recruit more witches.

N:You must have gotten close with Morpheus making the film and writing the book.

AM: When you have cameras rolling you keep a physical distance. There can be a limit to how intimate you can get at times. My friendship with Morpheus continued to deepen and I admire how she’s a really diehard priestess. She walks the walk. I really respected that. She lives on her own terms.

N:You’re incredibly open minded throughout the book, and there’s a great line about the fact that you feel like you’re burning calories just trying to keep an open mind as you’re traveling around the country and experiencing so many forms of witchcraft. Was there anything you were skeptical about that ended up surprising you?

AM: The whole concept of praying every day was pretty foreign to me. As attracted as I was to spells and ritual and getting together in a circle and having these kind of ecstatic group experiences, there was something satisfying about it on a primal level. There’s a group decision to let go of all that and try to connect to something bigger than any one of you. I really did love and appreciate that feeling.

The serious witches and the serious Pagan priests and priestesses that I met are devout people. This is something they study and practice with the same kind of seriousness as a rabbi or a monk.

N:Are you still practicing?

AM: I became involved with the society Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), which was made famous by the notorious Aleister Crowley, and there’s a lot of that practice that’s still intriguing to me.

N:Towards the end, the book gets into some dark territory. There’s one person, whom you call Jonathan, who is doing things that actually could be in a horror film.

AM: [Jonathan] is on the outermost fringes of magical practice and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the witchcraft or occult community who is going to be completely comfortable with what he does. That said, I had this intuitive sense that if I wrote a book for a mainstream audience about witchcraft, people would have a lingering feeling of, ‘Is there a darker side to all of this? Is black magic a real thing?’ I think if you’re writing about any kind of religious group it’s fair to assume that there are going to be extremists. I got to know him during my time in New Orleans before I knew the realities of his most private practice, which involves necromancy and working with the bodies of the dead. He’s using heads of bodies that he has no permission to be taking. It’s so far out there and really pushes the boundaries and it’s incredibly disturbing. At the same time I took pains to write that with as much sensitivity as possible. I’m not going to write about someone if I can’t find some point of empathy with them. If he were dismissed as a sociopath, there would have been no reason to write about him.

N:He’s definitely not painted as a monster, which is what’s so intriguing about it. Morpheus isn’t going that far, but she was still really open about her practice.

AM: She’s working with this war goddess called the Morrigan and there’s a ratcheting up of her relationship with witchcraft and the people who are drawn to her. She shared so much with me about things like her initiation or sex magic or blood offerings – it’s not the kind of stuff people talk about lightly but I think she saw the importance in making it possible for a reader outside the community to get an idea about witchcraft.

N:What do you hope people take away from the book?

AM: I think I come to some sort of revelation by the end of this book, but it’s sort of a messy one. There are aspects of witchcraft practice that I still hold onto and that I’m still open to.

For me this is a process and I call bullshit on the popular American memoir form where someone confesses to you how much of a mess their life is and then they go on this journey that they describe in these neat chapters and then they wrap it all up with a message for the reader. I just don’t buy that. I knew in the process of writing this that it was unlikely that I was going to come to some revelation or conclusion. It was important to be honest about how embarrassing and sloppy the whole process of asking yourself what you believe in is.

]]>Burn Them Anyway! Top 7 Witch Huntershttp://nerdist.com/burn-them-anyway-top-7-witch-hunters/
http://nerdist.com/burn-them-anyway-top-7-witch-hunters/#commentsFri, 06 Feb 2015 21:00:30 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=224401If there’s one thing the literary work of J.K. Rowling taught us, it’s that witches are everywhere, from the Wicked West to Eastwick. Sure, some of them are nice, I guess, but the majority of them are real nasty things who probably want to kill little children or turn into dragons or something. The wicked ones give the other ones a bad name, and like a vampire slayer or mummy strangler, there are witch hunters out there to stop them. There have even been some real life ones, but since they ended up just hanging or burning perfectly innocent people, they’re viewed now as horrible a-holes. Not everybody can be a hero. Anyway, in honor of Jeff Bridges and Ben Barnes taking up the cause in Seventh Son, which chronicles the latest in a long line of pre-destined hunters of witches, we present a list of seven famous, infamous, or just effective witch hunters in pop culture, in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

Hansel & Gretel
They may not have been ass-kickers in the original terrifying fairy tale, but in the film Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the brother and sister pair become leather-clad action heroes after a particularly diabolical witch, with red hair of course, because that’s the hair color of all witches, everybody knows that… (this is a joke based on perception.) While Gretel gets kidnapped (eye roll) and Hansel ends up being the solo bolo for a good chunk of the movie, you wouldn’t have one without the other and their ability to kill pointy-hatted hags is undisputed.

Matthew Hopkins
Back in the days when nobody checked credentials, and there weren’t many credentials to check, in the mid-1600s in England, a man named Matthew Hopkins traveled the countryside finding witches to torture and burn in the midst of the very violent and bloody English Civil War. He claimed he was under contract by parliament and said his title was Witchfinder General. He was very effective; he was apparently responsible for the deaths of around 300 women arrested and prosecuted for witchcraft, over 60 percent of the total number of executed “witches” during the period. The trouble, of course, is that Hopkins was never given any official powers and mostly wandered around waiting to get bribed and when a town or family couldn’t pay, he had several of their citizens killed for being witches. So, he was an awful person. A really great movie about him was made starring Vincent Price. It’ll make you very angry.

Dorothy Gale
Probably the least assuming witch hunter on the list is probably also the most famous. Dorothy didn’t mean to kill the Wicked Witch of the East when her house landed in Oz, but dead the old meanie was, and joyful the Munchkins were at the thought. That is, of course, until her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West caught wind of it (almost immediately…did they have some kind of psychic connection?) and wanted to get the pretty and her little dog too. Though green-face gives our heroine and her new friends a lot of flack, and flying monkeys, Dorothy ultimately does vanquish her, too, with some errant water. She kills two witches! And the guard has my favorite line reading in cinema history.

Every Disney Prince For Like Ever
It certainly took awhile for Disney movies to let the princesses fight their own battles, especially when witches are concerned. While there weren’t actually THAT many witches in Disney films, from the very first animated feature in 1937 until Tangled in 2010, if there was a witch needed fighting, it was a prince that did it. Or dwarfs. The presumptuously named Prince Charming takes a back seat to the 7 miners in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but it’s Prince Philip who does the Maleficent-murdering in Sleeping Beauty and it’s Prince Eric who does the Ursula-skewering in The Little Mermaid. Man, Disney princesses sure were damselly for a long time, weren’t they?

Suzy Bannion
This is another example of a young woman who doesn’t necessarily WANT to kill witches, but she certainly isn’t fine with being part of a coven, or being killed by them herself. I mean, that’s just not above board, man. In Dario Argento’s masterpiece of technicolor gore, and plots that make no sense, Suspiria, Suzy Bannion moves to Germany to join a prestigious ballet academy, but the more she learns about the teachers, and the more of her friends who die grisly deaths, the more she says “hey, wait a minute.” The school is run by Helena Markos, an ancient and powerful witch, who apparently is just as vulnerable to neck-stabbing as anyone.

Perseus
For this one, we’re going all the way back to Greek mythology. While a Gorgon is not technically a witch, I guess, a horrible haggish creature with snakes for hair and the ability to turn people to stone if they look at her is a pretty witchy thing to do. It takes a great hero to slay this beast, and one that’s a son of Zeus. Of course, they were all sons of Zeus back then; that dude got AROUND. Perseus was a very legendary hero because he not only cut off Medusa’s head, but he also saved the beautiful Andromeda from a sea monster called Cetus. He was the first hero in Greek Myth, actually. Man, he was pretty awesome.

The Boy and his Grandmother
To bring it all home, we have the case of a young man who didn’t think he’d have anything to do with witches, nor did he think he’d ever not be a human little boy, but boy was he wrong. The protagonist of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches stumbles across a huge gathering of England’s witches, led by The Grand High Witch, who is awful and evil and horrible and gross. The boy gets turned into a mouse, and it’s up he and his grandma to foil the witches’ plans, by tricking them all into eating mouse-maker stuff, turning everyone into a little squeaker who get stomped on by the cooking staff. Yeah, that’ll teach ’em to mess with children and the elderly!

And there we have it, seven of the most effective witch hunters in all of the world. We do not recommend attacking witches yourself, but if you see Seventh Son you can see how the professionals do it.

For a list of 7 reluctant heroes of cinema check out the latest episode of the Dan Cave:

]]>http://nerdist.com/burn-them-anyway-top-7-witch-hunters/feed/210 Haunted Halloween Snapchatshttp://nerdist.com/10-haunted-halloween-snapchats/
Thu, 30 Oct 2014 19:00:23 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=196895I think my buddy’s apartment is haunted. He keeps sending these spooky snaps. Not really sure what to tell him–its not like I can just call the Orkin guys for him. If only there was some sort of organization that I could call when something strange is in the neighborhood. But hey, what can you do? It is near Halloween and, sometimes, you just need to let Frankensteins and Draculas have a romantic night in and let some witches bake some haunted quiche in a cauldron.

Here are the spooky snaps from my friend, and let me know in the comments below if you have any interest in renting a room in this apartment.

I hope this doesn’t mean he’ll be crashing on my couch…

]]>Book Review: The Penguin Book of Witcheshttp://nerdist.com/book-review-the-penguin-book-of-witches/
http://nerdist.com/book-review-the-penguin-book-of-witches/#commentsSat, 18 Oct 2014 18:00:52 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=189466Katherine Howe’s new book The Penguin Book of Witches is an excellent read if you’re ready to accept that black hats, broomsticks and cauldrons filled to the brim with all manner of concoctions are notwitchy truths. The collection of historic writings and recollections about the infamous witch trails of the seventeenth century is fascinating and completely different from the books on witchcraft this reader has managed to devour in the last few years.

You don’t have to be a huge fan of getting lost in Salem, Massachusetts each October to enjoy Howe’s book. You really just have to be a fan of history with a healthy thirst for filling in a few blanks. The texts Howe collected and editorialized in this book are actual originals to the time period she’s examining. There are moments when you will be asking yourself if this was really the way that people spoke. In the end though, human truths win out: We are an animal quick to judge, blame, and condemn those that are different than the majority. That’s the real lesson Howe imparts through her work. While a large part of the book reprints the original treatises that were written in the seventeenth century, she provides thoughtful and necessary summaries before each so that the reader doesn’t get too lost in the linguistic differences.

While witchcraft was an accusation, and sometimes death sentence, The Penguin Book of Witches does show that there were people more rational than afraid who spoke against the quick judgement and condemnation that were handed down in communities in America. Howe discusses the religious bias that was woven through the witch trails that saw the deaths of so many accused witches – primarily women, though some men were among their numbers. She also acknowledges the very real socioeconomic discrimination and gender violence that the period was known for. Single women seeking help from their communities, women with midwife education and medical training, an idle threat of retribution for a perceived wrong: all were vulnerable to being called before a town hall and tried for witchcraft.

In the end, Howe’s collection of original documents and modern editorialization is a sobering look at what fear and instability can do to communities through the demonization of anyone thought of as different. You will close the book with a broader understanding what we are capable of doing to each other. You may also find yourself interested in checking out the extensive recommended readings that Howe provides should you want to know more about the caricatures with black hats and broomsticks that Hollywood has spoon fed us with for years.

What’s the last nonfiction book you picked up for fun? Tell me in the comments below!

]]>http://nerdist.com/book-review-the-penguin-book-of-witches/feed/1Geeking Out over SALEM’s Seriously Cool Sets and Behind-The-Sceneshttp://nerdist.com/geeking-out-over-salems-seriously-cool-sets-and-behind-the-scenes/
http://nerdist.com/geeking-out-over-salems-seriously-cool-sets-and-behind-the-scenes/#commentsSun, 20 Apr 2014 18:00:16 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=134197For a native New Englander, it feels sacrilege that the village of Salem never really held my attention during those field trips as a wee bairn, especially taking into consideration your author’s teenaged goth phase (my obsession with The Craft was real, you guys). Still, burning people at the stakes, mass hysteria, plagues and other terrible illnesses, and all that Puritanical stuff didn’t really appeal. It just sounded like a real bummertown. But teenaged fascination with witchcraft sent me down a path where there was, at least, an appreciation of the witchy worries of the people of Salem, which is at least partially why I ended up agreeing to head to the set of the new horror-drama TV show Salem in the first place. Once a teen witch, always a teen witch.

Fast forward a few years to March of this year. I’m standing in the middle of a replica of Salem village, getting strapped into the stockades, and l-o-v-i-n-g it. Not because I enjoy mocking the trials and tribulations of the dead, but because the Salem found in Shreveport, Louisiana — home of the televised take on the town on WGN America’s Salem — is a freaking spectacle of the most impressive, Renaissance Faire-esque proportions.

Now, there are myriad reasons why a show like Salem might appeal to you, and plenty of reasons to watch. Be it the strong female antiheroes at the story’s center, a love of witches, the truly — and I mean truly — horrific (horror fans: you’re going to love this show) imagery that pervades its storytelling, or the mythical twist the series takes on these true-life events, Salem has many good things going for it. But my biggest takeaway from the entire trip was the passion and, dare I say it, obsession that oozes out of every nook, cranny, and pore (be it man or beast!) of the entire production. These guys really, really know what they’re doing — and are super passionate about it. And isn’t that the hallmark of every good thing taken under the wing of nerddom?

While on the set I spoke briefly with the production designer, Seth Reed, and his enthusiasm for the project was undeniable. “I wanted to bring texture and authenticity into every detail to bring it to life,” he explained. (I could’ve asked him questions for hours.) Using a staff of 125 carpenters to bring the 25 buildings to life — in just two months to boot — I think it’s safe to say his work resulted in a massive success. I mean, they light the whole place by torch and candlelight, for pete’s sake! And the result is a — not to sound corny or anything but damn, is it appropriate — feast for the eyes and — when you’re in it — a delight for the senses.

My words alone can’t really do the whole thing justice, though. (Plus it might send me into a sort of hyperbolic tailspin.) After all, when one considers the fact that the village was built not just as exteriors but as places that housed actual working sets, in the style of 1692 Colonial America on 28 acres of a rural farm, there’s little words can do to recreate the aura and expansiveness. So being the intrepid documentor that I am, I took a bunch of photos in order to share them all with you. Click through to see the work yourself.

Salem premieres on WGN America tonight, Sunday, April 20th, at 10/9c. Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments!

]]>http://nerdist.com/geeking-out-over-salems-seriously-cool-sets-and-behind-the-scenes/feed/2The Witches Are Coming! SALEM Premieres Season One Trailerhttp://nerdist.com/the-witches-are-coming-salem-premieres-season-one-trailer/
http://nerdist.com/the-witches-are-coming-salem-premieres-season-one-trailer/#commentsThu, 17 Apr 2014 20:30:51 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=133936WGN America appears to be getting into the scripted television game in a big way. Just this week it was announced that the network would be adapting DC Comics’ Scalped into a series, and this Sunday is the premiere of their first original scripted series, Salem.

The full season trailer for the horror/drama series came online this week, and boy oh boy, it is not messing around. From all of the promotional materials, it would appear that Salem is a period piece told with a straight face and determined to push the limits; This horror fan couldn’t be more excited.

Watch the trailer below and tune into the series premiere this Sunday, April 20, on WGN America. Salem stars Janet Montgomery, Shane West, Seth Gabel, and Ashley Madekwe.

]]>http://nerdist.com/the-witches-are-coming-salem-premieres-season-one-trailer/feed/1How They Did It: The Awesome VFX on AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVENhttp://nerdist.com/how-they-did-it-the-awesome-vfx-on-american-horror-story-coven/
http://nerdist.com/how-they-did-it-the-awesome-vfx-on-american-horror-story-coven/#commentsWed, 05 Feb 2014 02:00:56 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=111766Did you enjoy the last season of American Horror Story in all of its witchy goodness? Did you enjoy the gore? The chaos? The magic? Well, now FX is offering fans a chance to see how it all went down behind the scenes in a brand new making-of featurette:

It’s amazing how these kinds of effects are even possible on a television series. But amazement aside, the blend of practical and CG effects this season is really admirable. Personally, I was positive the piano was all CG, but to see it was actually practical and the rather realistic looking flames were all 100% digital and not just keyed over a CG Myrtle, that’s artistry, and that’s what makes good horror.

And the zombies, guys. How awesome was that episode? This breakdown wasn’t just a cool behind-the-scenes montage, it was also a bit of a best-of, wasn’t it?

Ryan Murphy and his team killed it this season, and this effects video just goes to show how far they went to make us believe in witchcraft during Coven’s run. Also, can we talk about the eye plucking scene? So gruesome, yet so awesome to see how they pulled it off.